G.L. Pease - Jack Knife Plug
Tin Note: Cadbury Milk Chocolate fruit and nut is what I smell while putting my nose in this tin. 4 out of 4
Initial Light: Took me a couple false lights to get this smoke going but as soon as it started it was a nice creamy thick smoke. I noticed that this plug "rubbed out" likes to expand quite a bit while burning so leave yourself some room in the pipe or else it will fall over top of your bowl and onto your nice red velvet smoking jacket. 3 out of 4
Mid-Smoke: I was getting a really peppery taste at the beginning of the mid bowl not so much that I needed to stop but it was definitely there. I decided to play with the adjustable air flow knob in the front of my kirsten to see if I can limit the air flow to reduce the peppery kick, it helped a bit but I got some serious HICCUPS! and had to take a little rest. The bowl was still going on my return 5 min later.The pepper taste also died down to a nutty flavor that was pleasant and easy to smoke.Taste sort of like almond butter. 3 out of 4
Bottom of the Bowl: Nearing the bottom bowl the smoke did not taste bad but it didn't have as much complexity as i thought it would. Also the closer to the bottom the hotter the pipe smoked and it began to taste like burnt walnuts. 2 out of 4
Room Note: I asked my wife who was sitting outside with me what she thought of the smell of this blend. She told me she couldn't smell anything. Although I did not receive a definitive answer in regards to the smell, I also didn't have to hear any complaints about it. Which gives it a score equivalent to half. 2 out of 4
Dottle: Powder like ash remained in the bowl and coated the inside walls nicely with just a little moister, good conditions for building cake if packed properly.
Smoking Duration: This smoke was about 1hour 15min.
Overall: I'll say that I had no trouble getting the bowl lit and smoking nice and even, also I had no confrontation with any nasty bite. However, it was not as complex as I'd hoped and smoked a little hot near the end of the bowl. No doubt there are pros and cons to this blend, but I do believe all the cons i experienced are perfectly tamable and you can get enjoyment from this blend if you tried. So with that in mind it scores a 14 out of 20.
Recommendations:
1) 1 hour Dry time, I felt it was too dry for my preferences.
2) Try and cut into thin flakes and cube cut due to its tendency to expand I feel that would be a good method to try.